The notary's duty of impartiality according to Section 14, Paragraph 1, Sentence 2 of the German Notaries Act (BNotO) significantly shapes the German notariat and serves as the distinguishing point from the representation of interests by a lawyer. For legal transactions that require notarization, this official duty is specified by the Notarization Act, while for the also official, supportive role of the notary under Section 24, Paragraph 1 BNotO, such specification is lacking. The author examines whether and under what circumstances a notary, who does not perform notarizations but only provides support, such as advisory services, may act in a biased manner. To this end, he outlines the conditions and legal consequences of such activities and sketches out the considerations and proposals that should guide the modernization of the German notariat.